Santa Fly By

Ben is OBSESSED with airplanes, rocket ships and helicopters right now. So when we heard that Santa was going to fly into Carmel Valley in a helicopter, we knew that Ben HAD to go. But... Mom was up in the Bay Area so Dad took it as an opportunity to make it a boy's day.

Here comes Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus

Ben, watching the helicopter landing VERY intently...

They're here and most of the kids wouldn't take their eyes of Santa and Mrs. Claus but not our Ben... he wouldn't take his eyes off the helicopter!

Getting in for a pet of Santa's "reindeer."

Santa's Little Take-Away...

For being such a good boy, Santa gave Ben a pair of reindeer antlers... and somehow, Ben refused to take them off that afternoon! These pics are keepers, fors sure!

Santa!

Ben met with the big man a few days ago and actually didn't make much of a scene like the other kids his age in front of us. Although he wasn't too sure why Mom and Dad sat him on a strange man's lap (good instinct, Ben!), he smiled for the camera long enough to get a good picture!

 Down to the important stuff... telling Santa what he wants for Christmas!



JUMP!

Christmas came a bit early for Ben this year. Ben LOVES his new trampoline! After an hour of jumping and laughing, we literally have to drag him off of it...

Pretty Pictures...

Monterey Bolgers

Colorado Bolgers

Raking Leaves

It is autum which means the trees are shedding their leaves big time. What does that mean to Bolger boys? Let's make a fun game out of raking the leaves. You seriously would not believe how much fun Ben had. He would rake a small pile of leaves then jump in it, rake it again and throw the leaves in the garbage. This went on for at least an hour. Child labor laws?!? Now if we can only teach him to love folding laundry...



Hello My Baby, Hello My Darlin...

Kinda looks like we walked in on their alone time, doesn't it? Turns out Ben and Maxine were just playing together on an arcade game. Ben was totally down with Maxine giving him a scalp massage. They live 2+ hours away from each other so they don't get too play all too often but when they do, it is some serious quality time!

Kinder Jam

Every Wednesday AM is Kinder Jam. Ben loves the class and has made friends but has always wanted his Dad to go see him. Jeff took the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off of work and came along to watch Ben sing, dance, run and play. Ben always has a ton of fun at Kinder Jam but this class was the best one yet because Dad was there to cheer him on!



Bolgers Climb Rocks, Its What They Do...

We recently went to a birthday party for one of Ben's friends and his party just happened to be at the local rock climbing gym. Needless to say, Ben went crazy climbing and playing on the rock walls. And as Jeff says, "Bolger boys are climbers, Jen. You've just got to get used to it!"

Apple Picking

Our apple trees are going bonkers with all of their apples so Ben and Olivia took it upon themselves to knock the apples down and have some snacks. It was pretty cute to see them tossing the apples across the lawn and chasing after them. And hey, apples are better than chips or candy so us parents were fine with it...



No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

What is the most fun thing to do when you are 2 years old and you have a partner in crime? Yep, jumping on the bed. Whenever we weren't looking, Ben and Olivia would run into the guest room and start jumping on the bed like wild beasts!

Bird Chasing

After a fun lunch out, Ben could not keep his eyes open one more minute and passed out in the stroller. Olivia still had tons of energy though and had a blast chasing the birds on Cannery Row.

Aquarium Fun with Olivia

We took the Colorado Bolgers to the Monterey Bay Aquarium while they were here because Olivia had never been. Other than being late to nap time and cranky at the tail end of the trip, the kids had so much fun splashing around, watching the penguins and running thru the aquarium.

Bed Head

Olivia is less than 3 months older than Ben so they had a great time playing together during the Colorado Bolger visit. Every morning, the kids would wake up and go watch cartoons and slowly get their days started. Ben and Bunster & Olivia and her whale made this routine their morning ritual. Ben and Olivia are so lucky to be so close in age because they really had a blast together.

The Colorado Bolgers come for a visit!

The Colorado Bolgers came for a visit a few days before Thanksgiving. Since they live so far away, we don't get to see them as much as we'd like but we made sure to pack the 4 day visit full of fun activities and good quality time together.

Olive Picking Party

Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, Jeff's aunt and uncle in Aptos host an Olive Picking Party at their house. Jeff's uncle, Nico, is from Italy so once everyone is done picking olives, he feeds everyone amazing lasagna and bruschetta.

Great Grandma Bolger was in town from San Diego for Thanksgiving and the Olive Picking Party so we got to spend some good, quality time with her.

Jeff was put to work making the bruschetta for the hundred or so hungry olive pickers so Ben and I went up and down the hills picking olives and having fun in the mud!



Here, we are very happily eating our bruschetta and playing with the chickens...



Turns out, it was nearly 70 degrees so all the kids jumped in the pool. We weren't expecting such a nice day since it rained the day before but Ben insisted on taking a dip so the diaper-clad dude hopped in the hot tub. Not a bad way to relax after the olive harvest!



Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. In fact, we hosted our very first Thanksgiving EVER! Food was great, family time was awesome and the left overs are the gifts that keep on giving! Of course, I forgot to take a pic of the decor or the food spread so just take our word for it that we did Thanksgiving right! Now on to the holidays...